The 'Questions That Don't Warrant Their Own Thread' Thread

[Antonov]

Bottom post of the previous page:

how soon in the 1998 season did it became apparent neither Frentzen, nor Villeneuve, would continue with Williams for '99?

JV was pretty much guaranteed to be leaving Williams as soon as the BAR project was announced but I'm unsure of the timeline

Wikipedia

The deal [in which Craig Pollock was the majority purchaser of Tyrrell's equity] was announced on 2 December 1997.

Wikipedia

On 23 July 1998 BAR announced the signing of World Champion Jacques Villeneuve

so that was the weekend of the Austrian Grand prix, the stage of the championship in which the FW20 started to become a bit better (the following Grand Prix in Germany and Hungary were podium finishes for Villeneuve).

Wikipedia

Williams visited Zanardi, who signed a three-year contract in July 1998 which was publicly confirmed in September of that year.

you'd imagine that bringing in Zanardi was an immediate reaction to Villeneuve going to BAR.

[Cheeveer]

Mario Andretti ran in 12 out of 14 F1 races in 1975. He missed Zolder because of the Indy 500, and then also Zandvoort. Why did he miss Zandvoort? It did not collide with any Indycar event, as the Pocono 500 was not until the week after.

[erwin greven]

Actually you already mentioned the cause: He focussed on the Indy 500 and the Pocono 500. He did not run the Dutch and Belgian round in 1975.

[Michael Ferner]

Qualifying for Pocono was the weekend before the race, so it did collide with Zandvoort.

[Cheeveer]

Qualifying for Pocono was the weekend before the race, so it did collide with Zandvoort.

That was what I was missing. Thanks.

[DoubleFart]

Why did the Spa track owners/promoters change the bus stop chicane in 2003 and again in 2006?

I loved the original bus stop chicane, and actually prefer the 2004/2005 version to what we have today. Was it driver feedback or a supposed quest for overtaking?

[Cheeveer]

The 2006 mod was because of the new expanded pit complex that was needed to keep F1 at the track. Remember, there were no F1 races in 2003 and 2006.

Not sure why the chicane was changed ahead of the 2004 race, but could be simply to enhance passing opportunities.

[coland]

Does anyone knows what is the record of most postions gained in the first lap of a formula 1 race?

[PTRACER]

Why did the Spa track owners/promoters change the bus stop chicane in 2003 and again in 2006?

I loved the original bus stop chicane, and actually prefer the 2004/2005 version to what we have today. Was it driver feedback or a supposed quest for overtaking?

I think the 2003/4 changes were made to improve overtaking, although reading back it seems drivers were not consulted on it and believed it to be unnecessary since there was nothing wrong with what they had before.

The latter changes were made more for reasons of facility upgrades as far as I remember. Mainly, they wanted to expand the pit/paddock area facilities, while turning the bus stop and S/F area into a Hockenheim stadium section. Another reason was because the start straight was too short and the last few rows of the grid started around the corner which they thought was not acceptable. The drivers on the back rows couldn't even see the main starting gantry.

Personally, I think 1998/9 Spa was the perfect Spa.

[PTRACER]

Does anyone knows what is the record of most postions gained in the first lap of a formula 1 race?

Perhaps Jim Clark at the 1962 German GP? He stalled on the front row, having forgotten to switch on his fuel pumps. He got going in 26th place but was back up to 9th by the end of lap 1. Is there any advance on 17 places in one lap?

[Everso Biggyballies]

Does anyone knows what is the record of most postions gained in the first lap of a formula 1 race?

Perhaps Jim Clark at the 1962 German GP? He stalled on the front row, having forgotten to switch on his fuel pumps. He got going in 26th place but was back up to 9th by the end of lap 1. Is there any advance on 17 places in one lap?

What about Marcus Winklehock at the 2007 European GP at Nurburgring, when they had the lap 1 deluge. He had taken a chance on starting the race from rear of grid on wets and as all the cars in front pitted he crossed the line leading the race.
The only thing I cant remember is whether he led at the end of lap 1 or lap 2.


Edit: checked the lap charts.... he started last (maybe from pit-lane), and is shown as 10th at the end of lap 1, but leading at the end of lap 2. Last was 22nd in that year, so 'only' a 12 place gin on lap 1, but he got to the lead by the end of the first flying lap having gained 22 places.

Lap chart https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/europe/ ... -tour.aspx

I also checked the lap by lap for Clark at the 1962 German GP. Only 25 cars finished the first lap as Taylor crashed out, but even so Clark went from last to what is shown as 10th. Of course with Clark he had the full lap of the Nordschleife to play catch up. Also I cant tell from the video I have seen whether he actually drpped to dead last.
https://www.statsf1.com/en/1962/allemag ... -tour.aspx

[coland]

Does anyone knows what is the record of most postions gained in the first lap of a formula 1 race?

Perhaps Jim Clark at the 1962 German GP? He stalled on the front row, having forgotten to switch on his fuel pumps. He got going in 26th place but was back up to 9th by the end of lap 1. Is there any advance on 17 places in one lap?

This kind of stuff was indeed was I was looking for. But I am not completely sure he was last, from the footage I have of that race it looks like he had 3 cars way behind him on the first curve. Impressive nonetheless.

The question comes from the documentary I am trying to do on Ascari racing career.

In the 1954 season he had signed for Lancia and so that year he missed most of the races until he got a deal to race a Maserati factory car for a couple of Gps. On the French Grand Prix, he qualified 3rd on the grid behind the 2 Mercedes streamliner only to retire at the start with a broken clutch.

The next race at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix the team arrived only on Saturday and the drivers had really little time to try to qualify. Ascari had no time at all and Villoresi and Marimon was back on the grid with very poor laps.

Ascari started 30th on the grid, and was 13th at the end of the lap.

What's impressive is that his team mate Marimon who will sadly lose his life in the next race at the Nurburgring, started 28th and at the end of the lap was 6th, making that 22 positions gained!

Ascari cought up with the team mate in the following laps only to retire with a broken engine, take Villoresi's car and retire again with another broken engine.

This race is also remembered because the fastest lap, 1 minut and 50 seconds, was set by 7 (!!!) drivers: Ascari, Moss, Marimon, Behra, Gonzales, Hawthorn and Fangio.

[EB]

Marimon only gained 21 places as one of the drivers ahead of him was a non-starter.

Silverstone measured lap times using a calendar (or maybe a sundial), that's why so many shared the fastest lap.

[White six]

What was the reasoning behind the F1 points system in 1979? Only 8 scores counted, 4 from the first 7 races and 4 from the last 8.

I always imagined that the restricted scores was to compensate for the high number of cars failing in those days, but no idea why it was restricted across the season too

[DoubleFart]

What was the reasoning behind the F1 points system in 1979? Only 8 scores counted, 4 from the first 7 races and 4 from the last 8.

I always imagined that the restricted scores was to compensate for the high number of cars failing in those days, but no idea why it was restricted across the season too

Did we have pre-qualifying back then? I know during the 80's we had a point where some teams had to PQ in the first half of the season, but then it was reviewed for the second half. Anything to do with that?

[Michael Ferner]

To better reward race winners over point scorers. Six second places equalled four wins, but not when only four scores counted. The division in two halves was made earlier, in 1967 iirc. I guess the reasoning was to encourage teams to enter all the races, and not to cherry pick events.